Loons Preview 4.9

Friday Recap:

The Great Lakes Loons lost 2-1 in the pitchers' duel Friday night against Lake County though Loons right-handed pitcher Zach Lee made his professional baseball debut a good one by pitching four scoreless innings.

Lee, the Dodgers first-round selection from the 2010 draft, collected five strikeouts and issued three walks using 69 pitches, 39 of which went for strikes. He pitched out of a two-on, two-out situation base in the second inning by forcing Captains outfielder Argenis Martinez into a groundout to first. Loons reliever Pete Budkevics took over for Lee at the start of the fifth with both teams still scoreless.

The Captains broke the offensive silence in the sixth inning as Tyler Cannon slapped a single up the middle to score Giovanny Urshela, who had advanced to third on an Alex Lavisky sacrifice bunt. The Captains were gifted another run in the ninth, when Loons catcher Steve Domecus took a pitchout and tossed it high of third base trying to pickoff Lake County's Jason Smit, who scored on the error to give Lake County the two-run lead.

Great Lakes waited until the ninth inning to put a run on the board, initiated by Christian Lara's leadoff double down the left-field line. Loons first baseman Blake Dean followed up with a double of his own to score Lara. The Loons put Bryant Hernandez in as a pinch runner to represent the game-tying run, but he never got the chance as Captains closer Clayton Ehlert retired the final three Loons.

Tonight's Scheduled Starters

Tim Sexton - Great Lakes

Sexton spent a majority of his 2011 season pitching in 25 games for Double-A Chattanooga. He made 14 starts and finished with a 3-12 record and a 5.06 ERA (57 earned runs in 101.1 innings pitched). On June 30, Sexton recorded his first professional complete game, a 6.1-inning effort against the Huntsville Stars in which he allowed one hit and struck out five. Sexton, a returning Loon, will make his first return to the mound at Dow Diamond since September 2, 2007.

Kyle Blair - Lake County

Blair, the Indians fourth round pick from the 2010 draft, will make his professional baseball debut tonight for the Lake County Captains. In 2007, Blair was selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round, but opted to attend college and play baseball for the University of San Diego. He recorded a 2.99 ERA in his final year at USD, allowing 30 earned runs in 90.1 innings. Baseball America ranks Blair as the Indians No. 11 prospect.

What to watch for on the field: It only takes three games to have a hit streak and two of the Loons are in line to start one. First baseman Blake Dean and designated hitter Roman Pena have each had a hit in the Loons first two games. See if Dean and Pena can find another tonight for the season's first official hit-streak. Also, the Loons have yet to have more than four hits in a single game. Let's see if they can get that number up.

What to watch for off the field: Watch for Valley Lutheran High School students and teachers to fill the pavilion with banners and decorations for High School Spirit Night. There may even be a mascot appearance.